State v. Young, 233 N.C. App. 207 (Apr. 1, 2014)

The trial court did not err by instructing the jury that “[e]xcept as it relates to the defendant’s truthfulness, you may not consider the defendant’s refusal to answer police questions as evidence of guilt in this case” but that “this Fifth Amendment protection applies only to police questioning. It does not apply to questions asked by civilians, including friends and family of the defendant and friends and family of the victim.” The court rejected the defendant’s argument that the trial court committed plain error by instructing the jury that it could consider his failure to speak with friends and family as substantive evidence of guilt, noting that the Fifth Amendment’s protection against self-incrimination does not extend to questions asked by civilians.